Through Friday, May 3, the Spencer-Van Etten Greenhouse Program at the middle school will be running a clothing, footwear and textile recycling drive through UsAgain to fill the bus.

The students’ goal is to completely fill a school bus with items to be recycled. Eligible items include all clothing items, accessories like hats, gloves, belts, bags, purses and household linens like sheets, blankets, drapes and towels. Items do not have to be in good condition, but they cannot be wet or moldy. You can donate items that are worn out and no longer wearable, too.

Please bring all items to the middle school, where they will be collected in the gym/library lobby.

The SVE Greenhouse Program is also conducting a shoe collection drive from now through June 15, to help you clean out your closet. The goal is 3,000 pairs of shoes. All new and gently used shoes count, any size, including boots, shoes, sneakers, etc. Footwear can not be wet, muddy, or moldy and must be in pairs — no single shoes. Feel free to rubber band shoes in pairs. Bring all donations to the middle school gym/library lobby.

Tyler Ladd, of Corning Community College, speaks with Spencer-Van Etten students during a job fair held recently for juniors and seniors at S-VE High School.(Photo: Sally Marx / Correspondent photo)

Prescription drug take-back

A very important date to remember this month is Saturday, April 27.

It’s National Prescription Drug Take Back, and we all get to drop off our unused/unwanted/expired medications, no questions asked, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Spencer Town Highway Barn, 81 E. Tioga St.

It’s free, and you don’t even have to get out of the car. Medications you are not currently taking are not good to keep around, as they are a temptation to various age groups. We are not supposed to flush them down the toilet or throw them in the trash, as both methods of disposal can cause pollution of the groundwater. So, a drug take-back day is a quick, easy way to be rid of them. Please tell your friends and collect your old meds for Saturday.

Barbecue, vendor fair

Community Fire & Rescue will have a chicken barbecue and vendor fair at the station, 321 State Route 224 in Van Etten, on Saturday, April 27.

The meal includes a half-chicken, salt potatoes, baked beans and roll for $10. Vendor tables are $25 per space (one table) and open at 10 a.m.

Call Laura at 607-351-3950 to reserve a space.

Fire department open house

Saturday, April 27 will be a busy day! The Spencer Fire Department will host an open house with demonstrations, raffles, hot dogs and more, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the fire station, 41 Main St. All are welcome.

Can/bottle drive

The Spencer-Van Etten Youth Association is having its spring 5-cent can/bottle drive.

You can put your cans and bottles directly onto the big wagon parked at the four corners in Spencer or drop them at my driveway, 69 E. Tioga St. in Spencer — whichever is easier.

Historical museum needs help

May will soon be here, and on Memorial Day weekend, the Spencer Historical Society’s museum will open up for the season, if people step up to help.

The Spencer Historical Society needs volunteers to staff the museum this summer on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, 2 to 5 p.m. — either a full shift or half shift, Memorial Day to Labor Day. The board would love to have lots of help, even if someone can do it only one time.

Update on Abby Webster

I received a request to update you on how little Abby Webster is doing.

Last summer, she had a terrible accident with a lawnmower and lost both of her legs below the knee. I saw her grandpa, Terry Nelson, in the ShurFine a few weeks ago, and he said she was doing well — better than her grownups, who still struggle with the trauma of it all. I went to her Facebook page, Friends of Abby Webster, and read that on April 12, she had an infection in one of her legs and had to have more surgery. “They took some bone and cleaned out her infection.” Everything went well, but recovery was hard initially. Overall she is doing well, but these setbacks aren’t easy for her or her family. Her pictures are just captivating, however. She has got to have the best smile in the world.

Nature activities

Van Etten Library activities for this month: on Friday, April 26, you are welcome to come in an make a terrarium, in honor of Earth Day. At 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 24, Tanglewood Nature Center will bring some of its animals to the library to get acquainted. They have a variety of animals, from hawk to reptiles to owls. They do not announce in advance which animals they’ll bring, so you’ll have to come to find out. The next Tablet Talk will be Monday, May 13, from 2 to 4 p.m.

Village board meeting

Reminder: The Village of Spencer Board meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 1, for a budget hearing on the proposed 2019-20 budget, followed at 7 by the regular monthly meeting in the Municipal Room at 41 Main St. in Spencer.

Fire at historic house

On Sunday evening, fire ruined the inside of the O’Connell-Avery house on Liberty Street in Spencer. Flames and billowing smoke took a toll on the top floor, but the fire department saved the structure.

Mark Avery told me that it was built in 1816 and was a one-room schoolhouse for many years. Nicole O’Connell is a trustee of the Village of Spencer, which is seeking funds to build a new fire station with bays large enough to house modern fire trucks.

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2013: Three-year-old Lilie Stevens of Trumansburg, gets some help Tuesday morning from her mother, Kathryn Reeves as they make a colored photogram at the Children's Garden. The Ithaca Journal / file photo

2008: 20-month-old Benjamin Martin of Ithaca gets some practice watering the plants Wednesday morning at the Ithaca Children's Garden. Wednesday was the last day of the weekly Summer Sprouts program for two to five year-olds. The program involves listening to a book being read before moving to activities in the garden. The Ithaca Journal / file photo

2013: The mud on the face of John Rogers of Ithaca begins to dry as he explores the Ithaca Childrens Garden Sunday during the International Mud Day celebration held at Cass park. The Ithaca Journal / file photo

2009: Jared Dugan puts up a deer fence Monday morning at the Ithaca Children's Garden. Dugan is a part of the garden's Youth Horticulture Apprentice Program, where teens get paid to work in the garden four days a week for six weeks.
The Ithaca Journal / file photo

2014: Jennifer Gray of Ithaca hits the compost at the bottom of the plastic slide Saturday morning during the annual Tough Turtle event held to benefit the Children's Garden. The Ithaca Journal / file photo

2010: From left, Becky Padera of Boston, background watches as nine-year-old Abigail Campbell of Ithaca, looks for insects in the wetland at the Ithaca Childrens' Garden Saturday afternoon with help from volunteer Leigh Kalbacker at the Fifth Hatch Day for Gaia the Turtle at the garden. The event included story telling, music, ice cream and a fundraising silent auction. The Ithaca Journal / file photo